Monday Thoughts: Good, Not Great

Player of the Week
Sean Maguire: Here he makes a stick
save in the first period of Friday
night's game.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

BU played a rather poor game Friday night, but they played well enough to win. Something was clearly missing without either Wade Megan and Alexx Privitera in the line up. Both spend some serious time on the power play and that's where I think BU missed both of them the most.

Privitera was serving a one game suspension for kicking a player in the Denver game. Megan was out with a shoulder injury. I don't expect either of them to be back for the Harvard game on Wednesday; Megan for the injury and Privitera will likely sit out at Coach Parker's discretion for his poor play and stupid penalties in the DU game.

Sean Maguire
Since struggling in his first two starts as a Terrier, Maguire has definitely put himself right back in the ever competitive goalie rotation. Mags was basically set up to fail in his first two starts, seeing how they were both road games at New Hampshire and North Dakota. Besides Boston College, I don't think there could have been two tougher opponents to make your first two starts. For times in the RPI game, Maguire did what any good goalie needed to do: Keep his team in the game. Sean made some key saves in the first period when BU was getting badly out played.

Cason Hohmann
Not only did Hohmann score the game winning goal in overtime, but the RPI game was one of his better games as a Terrier. He looked like he took over an unofficial leadership roll with Megan out. He was quarterbacking the power play and setting up rushes all night. It was only fitting that he scored the game winner on a spectacular play. This was a play that Hohmann would not have had the patience to make last year.

Cason did an excellent job of holding onto the puck, rather than trying to force a move or a shot. He waited for a sliding Engineer defenseman to slide past him before he fired a perfectly placed wrist shot into a credit card size opening in the top corner of the net. Last year, Hohmann would have tried to force a pass over to Matt Nieto, who was the other forward on the two on one. On this play, the RPI defenseman, who opted to go down, blocked the pass across to Nieto, forcing Hohmann to make a perfect shot, which he clearly did.

At The Polls
BU was up one slot in the USCHO rankings from 9th to 8th. Minnesota was again the Nation's top team with Notre Dame, Boston College, New Hampshire and upstart Quinnipiac rounding out the top five in that order.

Over in the rankings that actually matter, BU finds themselves in 5th in the Pairwise. Boston College is one with Quinnipiac, UNH, and Notre Dame closing the top five.

Around Hockey East
Monday: New Hampshire topped Bemidji State 3-2 in overtime in the consolation game of the Ledyard Bank Classic Consolation Game in Hanover, New Hampshire... UMass upset Dartmouth in the Championship Game of the LBC.

Friday: Maine one upped Mercyhurst 2-1 at home... Lowell defeated Clarkson 2-1 at Cheel Arena in Potsdam, New York... Yale and Boston College skated to a 3-3 tie in New Haven... Minnesota State beat Providence 4-3 in overtime at home... BU was victorious against RPI 3-2 in overtime.

Saturday: Merrimack took two points from Vermont in the only Hockey East game of the weekend... Bentley throttled Northeastern 6-3 at Matthews Arena... Mercyhurst avoided the sweep at Maine with a 5-2 win... Lowell completed the sweep of Clarkson with a 6-2 win... Minnesota State blanked Providence 4-0 at home.

Honored
Cason Hohmann was named Hockey East Player of the week